Fantasy sports comes to the West Hempstead library

Do you want to dominate your fantasy baseball league? Whether you’re hoping to uncover this year’s sleepers and busts or just looking to get a handle on how this popular game works, join former ESPN baseball writer and current FanGraphs fantasy maven Jason Catania and his cohort in non-real baseball expertise, Jerry Galante, on Monday, Feb. 27, at 7 p.m. as they delve into these topics and more to help you get ready for the 2012 fantasy baseball season.

Library Program Coordinator Roseanne Dorfman is excited to be bringing fantasy sports to the library. “This is a new experience for us in the library world, this is really cutting edge,” she said. “It’s a program that should appeal to adults of all ages and unite them with a common interest.”

Fantasy baseball got its start around 1980 with the development of Rotisserie League Baseball, named for a New York restaurant where a group of people first played it, led by journalist Daniel Okrent. In the game, participants draft actual players and follow them throughout a season, earning points based on how those players perform in major league games. The games exploded in popularity with the rise of the Internet.

Fantasy football has surpassed baseball in popularity. The fantasy sports association estimates roughly 13 million people currently play fantasy baseball. Registration for the program is ongoing at the West Hempstead Public Library.